After tip-off, blood donation by allegedly gay soldier discarded
IDF officer protests Magen David Adom's decision to dispose of donation based on anonymous tip concerning his sexuality
Paramedics discarded blood voluntarily donated by a serving IDF officer after an anonymous tip-off claimed the donor may be homosexual, Channel 2 reported.
The officer, who was unnamed in the report, allegedly received a letter from Magen David Adom notifying him that his blood packets would be rejected due third-party information the organization received concerning his sexuality.
Most Western nations, including the United States, refuse blood donations from sexually-active gay males due to a heightened prevalence of diseases such as HIV. Detractors of this regulation claim though that it has no basis in medical science as donors can be tested for disease.
In Israel, any male who engaged in gay sex from 1977 onward is not be allowed to donate blood.
The officer, while not denying his sexuality, was irked by the fact that paramedics acted on an anonymous tip.
He met with the head of Magen David Adom’s blood donation department, Eilat Shneur, and demanded to know who provided the information on his sexuality, assuring her that he had not engaged in homosexual acts.
Shneur refused his overtures and declined to rubber-stamp his blood packets, citing health and organizational regulations.
However she did offer to look into storing his donation long-term in the event that his remaining blood donations may be used in the future, pending health laws reforms.
The soldier donated blood on a number of previous occasions without incident, the report said Monday.
“The idea that a body such as MDA, subordinate to the Health Ministry — a government ministry — accepts anonymous reports and maintain records about the sexual proclivities of donors is a shocking thought,” said Amery Kalman, the co-chair of Israel’s national LGBT task force.
“The clause requiring a statement from [blood] donors is outdated in Israel compared to other [blood banks] around the world, and offensive to homosexuals who want to be good citizens and to donate blood,” Kalman said.
In response, Magen David Adom released a statement defending its actions but also vowed to look into the veracity of the tip-off regarding allegations about the soldier’s sexuality.
“[Our] blood services operate according to clear guidelines and procedures set by the Health Ministry, as well as internationally mandated guidelines in cases of third-party reporting,” the statement read.
“The purpose of our regulations is to protect the safety and health of blood donation recipients,” it read.
The Health Ministry also released a statement saying that it maintains that donated blood not be used in the event that questionable medical information regarding the donor comes to light.
Such practices are in place in most Western and developed nations, the statement added.
In 1996, a Magen David Adom policy of secretly disposing of blood donations from Ethiopian immigrants sparked riots and drew heavy criticism worldwide. An inquiry into the issue found the policy resulted from a misinterpretation of a law mandating that donations from Ethiopian immigrants simply be marked.